dowerless
Lacking bridal portion
Dowerless means without a dowry—the money, property, or goods a bride traditionally brings to a marriage.
The term appears in older literature where marriage prospects depended heavily on what a woman's family could provide: A dowerless daughter had few suitors among the landed gentry.
Now largely historical.
Completely without money
- indigentExtremely poor, lacking necessities
- destituteUtterly without means
- penuriousExcessively frugal or poor
- impecuniousHabitually without money
moneyless · beggarly · pauperized · necessitous · strapped · broke · insolvent · hand-to-mouth
Woman getting married
- unprovidedNot given or supplied
- marriageFormal union between partners
- betrothalFormal marriage agreement
- nuptialOf a wedding
wedlock · matrimony · trousseau · matchmaking · suitor · spinster · unmarriageable · settlement
Open to attack
- dependentRequiring outside support
- powerlessLacking strength or authority
- dispossessedDeprived of home or land
- unprovidedNot given or supplied
disinherited · landless · resourceless · unsettled · deprived · marginalized · excluded · voiceless
penniless
Completely without money
- indigentExtremely poor, lacking necessities
- destituteUtterly without means
- penuriousExcessively frugal or poor
impecunious · moneyless · beggarly · pauperized · necessitous · strapped · broke · insolvent · hand-to-mouth · hardship
bride
Woman getting married
- unprovidedNot given or supplied
- marriageFormal union between partners
- betrothalFormal marriage agreement
nuptial · wedlock · matrimony · trousseau · matchmaking · suitor · spinster · unmarriageable · settlement · alliance
vulnerable
Open to attack
- dependentRequiring outside support
- powerlessLacking strength or authority
- dispossessedDeprived of home or land
unprovided · disinherited · landless · resourceless · unsettled · deprived · marginalized · excluded · voiceless · helpless